With the cover on the line, Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky calmly sank two free throws. Obviously, the 7-footer had no clue what the second shot meant, but he put the money ball in the bank, the Badgers walked off with a 79-72 victory over North Carolina and underdog players were left with a worthless ticket and a ridiculous bad-beat story.

It’s all about matchups at this point, and Kentucky has the edge mostly because of its size. Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson are 7-footers, Karl-Anthony Towns is 6-11 and Trey Lyles is 6-10. Wildcats coach John Calipari, like him or loathe him, has done a great job of putting it all together.

Everyone is entertained by the Cinderella stories. This was not one of them. Jahlil Okafor is too big and skilled, and the 6-foot-11-inch freshman slaughtered San Diego State in a game that played out as expected.

Underdogs covered the first six games Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. Three Big 12 Conference teams were knocked out by midafternoon, including Iowa State as a 14½-point favorite. This opening day of the tournament seemed to top them all.

Las Vegas is the place to be this week and next week if you bet college basketball. It’s not all about next week, either. Many of the fans at the Thomas & Mack Center, MGM Grand Garden and Orleans Arena showed up with betting tickets.

The Chicago Bulls were a popular choice to win the NBA championship this season, but that all changed this week when star guard Derrick Rose suffered a torn medial meniscus that will require surgery. Chicago’s odds dropped from 8-1 to 20-1 at one Las Vegas sports book.

Several hours passed Thursday with nothing coming from Floyd Mayweather Jr. This is the routine for those who cover boxing. Everyone waits on Floyd, and Floyd will talk when Floyd is ready. He’s got the money and the power, so he can make everyone wait.

On one of those postcard Sundays in San Diego, Jason Day got his moment in the sun at the same time it was setting on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Day’s win in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines is a good story, but it was overshadowed.

It was thrilling for everyone holding a ticket on the New England Patriots and sweating bullets. It was the agony of defeat on Seattle Seahawks bettors. It was millions of dollars changing hands in a split second in the biggest betting event of the year.

On the Monday after the Super Bowl, there will be numerous hot topics, some of which will matter. Marshawn Lynch will matter if the Seattle Seahawks win or lose, and not because the running back might have grabbed his crotch.

It boggles the mind, and it still will for months and maybe years. Aaron Rodgers had led the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl, according to the countless prophets on Twitter who declared the game over.

With his last name, which is ideal for headline writers, it makes sense that Andrew Luck is good. He’s on the fringe of becoming great, but it takes one more win to reach that next level of NFL quarterbacks.

Aaron Rodgers is not The Most Interesting Man in the World. He’s not drinking beer and ripping off one-liners while surrounded by hot women. But Rodgers is being watched, because he is the most important player in the most interesting game of the NFL playoffs this weekend.